New Berlin voters will see $25 million school referendum on April ballot

The New Berlin School District will be asking voters in April whether they’ll approve a nonrecurring five-year operational referendum for $5 million per year.(Photo11: New Berlin School District)

Voters in New Berlin will see a $25 million question on the April 2 ballot.

The New Berlin School District will ask taxpayers if they support a nonrecurring operational referendum to exceed the state-set revenue limit by $5 million per year for five years.

The school board Jan. 14 voted 4-3 in favor of putting the question to voters.

According to the resolution approved by the board, the funds would go toward paying debt within the operating budget; funding long-range plans for facilities, equipment, safety, technology infrastructure, and curriculum and instruction; and "fair and competitive staff compensation," according to district presentations at the meeting and online.

A week earlier, members voted the same way on the idea of a referendum in general, directing administrators to work with legal counsel to draft a question for April’s ballot.

Time is now

Crosby said the decision to bring an operational referendum to the voters was not taken lightly. In an email to Now News Group, Crosby said the decision was made after many years of work between the school board and the administration to resolve the district’s structural deficits.

“After the last few years of cutting as much as I feel that we could without making infrastructure changes, I came to the conclusion that putting an operational referendum on the ballot is the right solution at this time and a majority of the board voted to let the voters decide if, come April 2, they agree,” Crosby said.

Why a referendum?

The district has avoided operational referendums by managing structural deficits for the past seven years, according to information from the district, but will be facing its largest deficit yet — $2.3 million — for the 2019-20 fiscal year and has no way to address it or future deficits without significantly impacting the current educational structure.

Many factors are causing the district’s structural deficits, according to district officials, including annual debt payments of around $3.7 million for building Ronald Reagan Elementary and renovating New Berlin West High School.

Other reasons include paying for other building upgrades within the operating budget, not levying to the maximum for several years, declining enrollment and rising costs.

Tax impact

The tax impact of the referendum would be most prevalent in the first year of the five-year period, according to the district.

For the owner of a $250,000 home, the annual tax increase would be $97.50 for 2019-20. The following year it would be $30.

The trend would continue for the next three years, according to projections, with either no impact or a decrease of $5 in year three; no impact or a decrease of $75 in year four; and no impact or a decrease of $145 in year five, 2023-24.

In the latter years, the district projects property values could increase enough to offset increases caused by the referendum, said Superintendent Joe Garza.

The projections are based off of estimated tax rates, compared to the 2018-19 levels, and assumes 3 percent property growth in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, and 2.5 percent property growth the remaining three years. Projections are also based on historical data and reasonable expectations for future changes in revenues and expenditures.

"Shall the School District of New Berlin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $5 million per year for the 2019-20 school year through the 2023-24 school year, for non-recurring purposes consisting of operational expenses, including paying debt within the operating budget; funding long-range plans for facilities, equipment, safety, technology infrastructure, and curriculum and instruction; and fair and competitive staff compensation?"

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